


Smoke And Mirrors

by officialarrow



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, NEEDED THAT TITLE ELSEWHERE, PREVIOUSLY NAMED 'THE UNKNOWN', sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-03 23:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4118940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officialarrow/pseuds/officialarrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen, heir to the entire Queen Consolidated and his family's fortune, returns home from the army after his father dies and is left alone to run the entire company. After realizing he missed out on being young and reckless due to joining the army, he turns to his best friend Tommy; a billionaire playboy who makes him into another version of himself.<br/>When things get out of hand, Oliver is accused of murder. Only one person believes he is innocent and wants to help him, and that is the underrated attorney Felicity Smoak. But getting out of that problem isn't going to be easy for him, when the best prosecutor, Laurel Lance, is going against them.<br/>When he is at his lowest, Oliver sees what's true, what's a lie, and what it really takes to be happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Someone New

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So excited to start a new project! Hope some of you who liked my previous story will like this one too! :)

 

_Oliver Queen_

He wakes up with a headache and a horrible smell in his nose. He doesn't remember where he is, and hell, had he woken up earlier he wouldn't have remembered who he was either. It's dark and cold here, and he's pretty sure they're somewhere high like a rooftop, because he can see stars above him. He searches for his phone in his pocket and turns on the flashlight, not prepared for what he is about to see. He fumbles back against a wall behind him when he sees the body next to him. It's a young girl, and she's lying dead beside him. He tries his hardest to remember the previous night, but everything is a blur. He doesn't remember the girl next to him, and he certainly doesn't remember anything about how she died. He only knows one thing: he didn't kill this girl. 

Suddenly a door get's kicked open and Oliver is blinded by flashlights. He groans and puts his hand over his eyes.

"Freeze!" Someone shouts, and Oliver realizes it's cops. He puts his hands up over his head and closes his eyes.

"Hey, that's the Queen guy!" He hears one of the cops whisper.

"Oliver Queen, you are arrested for murder!" Detective Quentin Lance apporaches him as he sees the girl beside him. When he is forced up by the officers and is put handcuffs on, there is only one thing going through his mind: He didn't do this.

"You have the right to remain silent..."

"I didn't do this!"

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."

"No! Please, I swear to God I didn't do this!"

"You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

He didn't do this. He knows he didn't. 

_A month earlier_

With the brand new expensive suit he just bought, Oliver stepped out of his car and entered the Queen Consolidated building for the first time since he left to join the army over ten years ago. He didn't remember this place, and he certainly knew he wasn't ready to run the company. But what choice did he have when his father died so suddenly and his entire legacy weighed on his shoulders? He knew how to run it, his father wanted him to run it so he sent him to college. It wasn't before he graduated first in his class that he realized this wasn't what he wanted just yet. He was going to take over it one day, when he was ready. Now he was 35, and he still didn't want to run it.

"Oliver freakin' Queen!" A familiar voice shouted after him from the reception. He turned around and saw Tommy Merlyn standing in an equally expensive suit and a briefcase. "How long has it been?" He was smiling when Tommy approached him and gave him a hug. He looked much older than what he remembered, but it was about 15 years since he last saw him.

"Too many years, buddy. How have you been?" 

"How have I been? What about you, dude what happened to your hair?" 

"I was in the army Tommy, they shaved my pretty hair off." He joked, and shook his hand. They both laughed.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad."

"It's okay, just hoped the old man didn't have to leave this company for me to run all alone."

"We should merge then. Run our companies together."

"I don't know Tommy, I haven't even arrived here yet. We can discuss it sometime."

"Yeah, sure buddy. Hey, you know what, let me take you out tonight!"

"I don't know..."

"Come on! You've never had fun! After high school, which you basically stayed inside studying to get into Harvard and after that you moved to Boston to go to Harvard where you stayed inside studying! As if it doesn't get any worse, you joined the army! You've never been young, you've never had casual sex. Come on, dude!"

"...Sure, why not." He smiled and shook Tommy's hand once more and said goodbye to his friend. He thought about that, never having been young. It stayed with him the entire day until he met up with Tommy later that day.

"Hey buddy, so glad you decided to join me, because I have found two stunning girls inside, and they're really excited to meet you! Good, you put on your fancy suit!" He was wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt, he decided to drop the tie, he had been wearing one all day.

"Tommy are you sure we should take advantage of these girls?"

"You're just saying that because you haven't got laid in a long time."

"How would you even know that?"

"Trust me, I can tell. And trust me when I say that you will not want to go back after today."

And so it started. That evening was just the beginning to what the newspapers would describe as "playboy Queen". He and Tommy would go out every chance they got and find someone new to sleep with. Just that one time, and Oliver wad addicted.

A month later, Oliver was exactly like Tommy.

And it lead to the day he was charged with murder.

And it all went to shit after that.

 


	2. Rolling With the Punches

_Oliver Queen_

He was sitting in the interrogation room with Quentin Lance right in front of him. They had been sitting like this in silence for a while now. It took a long while before anyone said a word.

"So, why don't you just go ahead and tell me why you did it?"

"I didn't do shit."

"Oh, really, well then let's put that as your statement."

"I have the right to an attorney, and I don't have to answer to you without one."

"Oh, well, if I recall correctly you met with a bunch of attorneys, and none of them suited you or wanted to represent you."

"Still, I'm not answering anything until I get a lawyer."

Quentin looked pissed as he sat back in his chair. He rubbed two fingers against his temple as they waited.

There was a quiet innocent knock on the door, and a blonde girl opened it. She was pretty, with the blonde ponytail and the glasses.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Felicity Smoak, attorney at law." She stretched out a hand, but Quentin just looked at her like she was stupid. "I'm here to consult with my client."

"Client?" Quentin looked confused, but not as confused as Oliver.

"If we could have moment to discuss, we'll get back to you if that is the right term." She responded, sending Quentin out the door.

"I like you." Oliver said and sat back in his hair.

"Well, this isn't about liking me." She sat down in the chair opposite him. "Your case, it's a tough one."

"No one wants to represent me because they say I don't stand a chance, and those who want to represent me aren't up for the task."

"Hopefully, I can show you I am up for the task."

"Who do you work for?"

"I'm with the CNRI, we saw your case and that no one was representing it. We're here to help."

"That's nice, but I'm not sure yet that you could actually win this for me."

"Take a chance on me, Mr. Queen. I'll do everything I can to make this go away. I can tell you I'm excellent at what I do. I haven't lost a case."

"Then why are you with the CNRI?" There was a moment of silence, and he could see that Felicity was struggling with what he had said.

"There was an incident, and I don't feel like explaining to you. However, short story is that no one wanted me after they saw what I had been involved with. The CNRI however, didn't care. They looked at my grades, and they wanted me."

"Sorry to hear that."

"How about we start to discuss the evidence they have against you?"

"Okay."

"You were found beside the body of a 21 year old woman, her blood was all over your body and you have no memories of the night she died."

"I didn't do this, Ms. Smoak."

"I believe you." Oliver looked up at her in surprise. The one thing he had found in all those attorneys that he didn't want was that they all believed he was guilty. How could they convince someone that he was innocent when they didn't believe it themselves?

"You do?"

"The jury is going to look at the month you've been back, and it looks like you have been quite busy."

"I've never done that before. Being reckless like that was amazing."

"It's also the reason you're sitting here. Oh, and by the way. 21? A bit young for you?"

"Age is just a number, right? How old are you?"

"It's none of your business, but I'm 27. And if I'm going to represent you I'd be more comfortable if you didn't hit on me."

"I didn't hit on you!"

"Yeah, you did."

"I don't have a problem with it if you don't." He shot her a sly smile.

"Mr. Queen, I don't want to rip off the bandage so soon, but you need to take this seriously! This is your life on the line!" Oliver's smile disappeared.

"Sorry."

"You were in the army after you graduated from Harvard, right?"

"Yes."

"Let's play that card then. You were a soldier. People look up to soldiers. Let me ask you something, what was the reason you joined?"

"I wanted to serve and protect my country. I wanted to become something that actually helped people."

"There it is." She scribbled something down, and continued. "The media is also going to affect your trial, since you're well known. Right now, they're calling you murderer, monster and all sorts of disgusting things."

"They can say what they want about me, I just roll with the punches."

"Maybe you should care a bit about that, because we're going up against Detective Lance's daughter, Laurel Lance."

"So?"

"You have been gone for a while, I know that, but she's the best prosecutor they have. She gets people locked up, Mr. Queen."

"Well then, I guess we have a hard fight against us then,  Ms. Smoak."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Also, I'm really happy about the response to my previous story, it really makes it so much more fun to write :) This story won't be as sad and emotional as the other one, but I can't promise there won't be angst ;) Please comment your opinion!  
> Also, I don't know much about law, especially US law, so I am improvising a lot with this story. A lot of it might be bullshit, but just don't get caught up in that :) the main story is the important part :)


	3. I Forget Where We Were

_Oliver Queen_

 

Felicity was sitting in front of him scribbling down something on a notepad. They had been meeting everyday for a week now, and now they were going through how the trial could potentially play out.

"You said you went out with Tommy Merlyn that day?"

"That is right, I went out with a buddy. Why do you want to know that?"

"We'll need him to testify in your trial, but I'll need to ask him about it first. If he is able to tell us something more about that night, there might be a clue there to what actually went on and maybe we can figure out more."

"Fine."

"Now, tell me what happened after that."

"I had a few drinks, we both did. I'm not sure how I blacked out though, I've never blacked out from drinking and I certainly didn't drink enough to black out that night."

"Unless you have proof that you didn't drink enough to black out that night, it won't be enough."

"Didn't they do some blood alcohol level thing?"

"Yes, but it was many hours after you consumed the alcohol."

"I swear to you I don't remember consuming that much alcohol. I had a few glasses of scotch, but that's all I remember. I must have blacked out after that, and I've been drunk on scotch before, and I didn't black out then." Felicity looked away and frowned. She looked like she was thinking really hard on something.

"What? What is it, you're thinking of something?"

"I'm not sure you'll be comfortable with..."

"Just tell me. If it can help my case, you need to tell me."

"Tommy."

"What about Tommy?"

"Is it at all possible that he might have drugged you?"

"No."

"Oliver, you've been back for a month. You told me you hadn't seen him for over a decade before that, he might not be who you remember."

"No, he wouldn't do this to me."

"Are you really fully sure of that Oliver?" He thought back to his friend. During childhood they'd always been there for each other. He couldn't have done this.

"Yes, there were a lot of people in that bar. It could have been any of them."

"I've ordered a test of your blood from that night. If you were drugged, we'll know pretty soon."

"Felicity, that might help, but it also might make it worse. We don't have any evidence that I didn't take the drug myself, how on earth are we going to make them think I didn't just take a drug for fun that night?"

"Well, it depends on the drug really. If the drug is a roofie, it might prove you were, well... 'roofied'."

"Is that going to help things?"

"I don't know. We'll have the opportunity to state that if you were responsible for the murder, at least you weren't yourself or aware of what you were doing."

"No, I don't want to state that."

"Why not?"

"Because even if I weren't aware or myself, I know I didn't do this."

"How can you know that when you don't remember anything?" Oliver frowned when she said that. She saw his expression change within seconds after she spoke. He looked so hurt and disappointed.

"I thought you were different." He breathed out, and his hand went through his short hair.

"Excuse me?" She said, not knowing what she had said wrong.

"You told me you believed in me, that you believed I was innocent!" He shouted at her.

"I do!" She shouted back.

"No, you just told me that you might think I did this!"

"That is not what I said!"

"Except it is!"

"No, I told you that you might have been drugged and done this while you weren't yourself. That means that you are not responsible for that girl's life being taken, it's the person that drugged you! I believe that you are innocent in this, and that you do not deserve to be punished for the crime of another. It's the reason I accepted the offer from the CNRI, because they don't just help people who can't afford help, but they believe that if someone is innocent they shouldn't be punished!"

"Felicity, I know I didn't kill that girl."

"Explain to me how you can know that Oliver."

"Because she was killed with a gun." He took a deeo breath before he told her the rest. He had tears in his eyes. "I couldn't have killed her because that girl was killed with a gun. I haven't touched a gun since..." He couldn't continue. He put his hands in front of his face, and breathed out.

"Why?" She looked at him with confused eyes. She could see how conflicted he was about his situation.

"I haven't told anyone this, but I can't touch a gun anymore. I feel sick everytime I see one and even if I wasn't aware, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have touched one anyways. I didn't just come home because my father died, I came home because I couldn't take it anymore. Being there, it was too much. And I know I didn't kill that girl because I can't fucking touch a gun."

"You have PTSD?" She looked at him with sympathy. 

"Yes. A decade in the army, and you can just imagine the shit I've seen. Guns are a part of every single bad experience there, I can't touch them when I'm not myself either, because it's so deep within me."

 

Oliver was sitting in front of the jury, the judge, Laurel Lance and everyone else in the courtroom. He was being questioned by Laurel Lance right now, and he couldn't concentrate fully. He tried to listen, but his mind wandered to the jury. He could feel the cold sweat beginning to gather on his forehead.

"An answer please?" Oliver snapped out of his thinking when Laurel raised her voice at him. He hadn't heard the question.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Answer the question, Mr. Queen." The judge spoke to him with a strict tone.

"I didn't hear what you said."

"Well then, pay attention from now on. I asked if you took any drug that night."

"No I didn't."

"Need I remind you that you are under oath, and that lying to the court is a crime?"

"I'm not lying, Ms. Lance."

"Dear Hounour, permission to present some evidence?" Felicity stood up with some papers in hand.

"Yes, Ms. Smoak."

"We ordered a drug test for Mr. Queen's blood from that night." Felicity handed the judge the papers.

"The test said Mr. Queen was in fact under the influence of narcotics. However, the test also said the substinance was the drug Rohypnol, also commonly known as the 'roofie' drug. The drug is clear and has no taste, which indicates that it was used as a way to make Mr. Queen take the drug without his knowledge. The test is evidence that Mr. Queen was drugged, and his actions and loss of memories could be explained with these evidence."

"That doesn't mean Mr. Queen was not acting on desire." Laurel was suddenly speaking again after a while. "Permission to question the accused?"

"Granted."

"You might not have taken the drug by choice, but that doesn't mean you didn't act on what you actually wanted to do."

"Where is the question?" Felicity stood up.

"Are you saying you had no intentions on killing that girl?"

"Yes. I didn't even know who it was, I had no intentions on killing someone I hadn't even met yet."

"Have you ever taken a life?"

"Objection, relevance!" Felicity raised her voice.

"It is highly relevant to this case, the victim was murdered, so I'm asking Mr. Queen if he have ever taken a life?" Oliver stared at Laurel with resentment in his eyes.

"Yes I have." The jury all looked at each other when he answered.

"So, you have taken a life before? Doesn't everyone agree that once you take a life it gets easier to take the next one? Mr. Queen has taken a life before, therefor it might have popped up in his head while he was under the influence!"

"Again, where is the question?" Felicity was starting to get really pissed. Oliver clenched his hands.

"The coroner's report said that the bullet wound indicated that the person who shot the girl must have training. The bullet was shot in a perfect angle right in the middle of her forhead. Mr. Queen, you've been a part of the army for a long time. During that time you even got a promotion, what exactly was your position?"

"Sniper." He could hear the whispers from the jury and the audience.

"So you had a talent for shooting?"

"I did."

"My client did have a talent for shooting, however if you had bothered to read all of his file you would have known he was sent home from the army because he refused to touch a gun for several months." Felicity interrupted Laurel. "Now Mr. Queen would you please tell the jury why you refused?"

"I couldn't touch it because everytime I touched one I would get panick attacks."

"My client had post traumatic stress disorder from the army and got panick attacks everytime he was near a gun, he even spoke to a therapist who cleared him and sent him home. He even scribbled in his notes that it had become an instinct to panick. Had Mr. Queen gotten in contact with a gun, even while under the influence of a narcotic he would have panicked."

"He was under the influence!" Laurel interrupted.

"You just said my client could have decided to kill that girl while under the influence, yet you don't think he could have panicked if he was able to decide on something like that?"

"Can we take a recess?" Laurel drank her glass of water and stared at Felicity with bitter eyes.

 

 


	4. The Pretender

  

_Oliver Queen_

"It's looking good. I really think they might have listened." Felicity was smiling at Oliver. He really liked it when she smiled, she had this way of making his mood better.

"Might have? You rocked it!" She laughed and nodded at him.

"I really do believe you are innocent Oliver." She was looking him in the eyes as she sat beside him.

"Thank you." He looked in hers too, and it went silent for a while. After a long minute he realized he had been staring at her for too long, so he coughed and looked away. She let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a breath and went through some papers.

"What's going to happen now?" He asked.

"Laurel is probably thinking of new strategies, so we need to be prepared that she will have something new."

"Okay." It went silent for a while before they were told the recess were over. They walked into the courtroom again and to his surprise Tommy was sitting there. He was going to witness.

"The court has called Tommy to the witness stand."

"As I always remind the ones I'm questioning, you are under oath and obligated to tell the truth." Laurel paced around in front of Tommy while looking him in the eyes.

"I understand that." Tommy replied.

"During the night you spent with Oliver, did you notice he had changed in behaviour?"

"I did. It happened while we were on the second drink, after that he was a bit out of it. I told him to go home, but he told me he needed to be alone and that he didn't want me there. After that I left with a girl back to her place. I didn't hear from him until I saw the news."

"Does Mr. Queen have a history with drug use?"

"Objection, relevance?" Felicity stood up with rage in her eyes. She could see that Laurel and Tommy was working together on this.

"It is relevant, if Mr. Queen has a history with drugs then that means he could have taken the drugs himself."

"He does have history with drugs." Tommy interrupted them. Oliver's mouth was left hanging when he heard Tommy speak. He was lying. He had never taken drugs his entire life.

He leant in close to Felicity and whispered to her. "He's lying, I've never taken any drugs." Felicity looked at him in shock, and looking like she just had a revelation.

"He was always big on the occasional fun-time in high school. When he got back, who knows, maybe he was looking for a fun time after a hard time in the army." Tommy sat there, lying to everyone and straight to him.

Maybe Felicity was right, maybe Tommy did do this.

"There was one more thing though." Tommy raised his hand slightly, looking at Laurel.

"Yes?"

"Before I left, Mr. Queen asked me if I knew where he could get a gun." The entire room went silent. The judge looked surprised. He was escorted out of the court, and after an hour they were called in again.

When he sat down he could feel his heart pumping.

"Mr. Queen, the jury finds you guilty. I sentence you to 20 years in prison for the murder of Helena Bertinelli."

As the judge hit the hammer, he felt nauseous. 

And then it all went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no hidden meaning behind Helena, I just needed a name :)


	5. Daniel In The Den

 

_Felicity Smoak_

She walked down the hallway of the prison, where Oliver was being kept. He had been there for a week now, and she had only gotten the chance to meet him today. She had been searching day and night for evidence she could use. This all felt too rushed to her. They decided to send him to prison an hour after Tommy Merlyn had lied to them. She felt disgusted, because that meant either they had been bribed or someone was working for Tommy. Either way, they had won for now. She walked to the door where they were going to meet, and she took a deep breath before going inside. 

When she saw Oliver, her heart started to beat really fast. His face was covered in bruises, he was wearing a blue overall and his hands were cuffed. Iron Heights weren't exactly known for it's gentle and nice prisoners.

"Oh my God, Oliver..."

"It's nothing. I'm good with a gun, but turns out I'm not that good at a fight."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault, you did everything you could do. I don't blame any of this on you. In fact, I'm grateful for everything you did for me."

"I would have come sooner, but I figured you needed some time to adjust. If this doesn't go our way, it might be..."

"Hey, I got all the time in the world. Besides, it's not like I don't deserve being in here."

"Oliver, you don't deserve that. Please don't say stuff like that."

"You don't know what I did over there." He buried his face in his hands. "Maybe I deserve what I got."

"No. You were punished for something you didn't do. I believe you are innocent, I believe in you. So don't you dare say that what I believe is wrong." He looked up at her with teary eyes.

"Why do you believe in me? Why do you care? I don't understand, first time we meet and I hit on you. Yet you still came back and you are still fighting for me. I don't understand why."

"Beacause, I saw something in you. I don't know if you remember, the actual first time we met. You were pretty drunk so I don't blame you if you don't."

"What?"

"I was sitting at the bar, all alone and drinking. It was late and I had just won a case and realized I just wanted a drink after all that work. No point in celebrating, I was going to have to fight the next day anyway so why take off the armour? I had a drink when you sat down next to me. You were pretty drunk and your friend was making out with a girl, and you went to the bar for another drink. I could see you wanted to drink rather than talk to me or anyone else for that matter. I knew it wasn't the real you. I could see Tommy was changing you."

"I didn't talk to you?"

"No you just looked at me while you were waiting for the drink."

"Wow."

"What?" She looked confused, he was looking her right in the eyes.

"I just can't believe I blew off talking to you." There was a moment of silence before she let out a nervous breath.

"Maybe we should talk about getting you out of here."

"Yeah..."

"So, Tommy."

"He's responsible. I should have known, I should have listened to you. He's probably working with Laurel and the jury."

"That must be the reason it went so fast." Suddenly she could see the shock painting his face. He then hit the table so hard that she almost jumped out of her chair.

"What is going on?" She yelped.

"Tommy. That fucking bastard. I know why he did this."

"Why?"

"He wanted us to merge our companies. After a few drinks one night we both agreed that if something were to happen to one of us, the company would be taken care of by the other person."

"What? That means..."

"He's getting my company. My father's company. Fuck!"

"Why would you ever agree to that?"

"I don't know I was drunk and I thought it was a good idea at the time. Fuck, the next day I must have forgotten all about it."

"Okay, but did you sign a contract? It's not valid if you didn't."

"What do you think? I wouldn't have been so angry if I didn't. Fuck, I'm an idiot!"

"We can still try, I'll dig up evidence on him!"

"Even then, it could take a long time."

"It could." She could see him processing something in his mind.

"Felicity, whatever you do and however long it takes; do it. I can wait here, but only if I know you are fighting. I can wait months, and I can wait years. All I need is to know you can possibly help me out one day." She looked into his eyes, they looked like they had given up. She wanted him to be angry, not accept it. He had sort of accepted it, if he was able to wait years inside this shithole.

"I will." She answered hoarsly after a while. "I will get you out of here. We will make this right." She put her hands over his, and he looked at her with eyes on the brink of tears.

"Please, Felicity, help me out of here."

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT: this story was previously called THE UNKNOWN, I decided to use that name for my other story as it fit so much better there and I realized Smoke And Mirrors is also a great name for this story (listen to Imagine Dragons - Smoke And Mirrors, it's actually a better song for this story).


End file.
